PCT Day 161 – 6 Reasons Having Your Period on Trail is Basically the Worst

Sally Ann Lake (mile 2494) to campsite 2515

If you’ve failed to pick up on the subtle clue I left in the post title, I very much dislike dealing with my period on trail. Periods in general are something that almost nobody was talking about when I researched the trail. But let’s face it, for most people who have a period, a five month hike will require you to deal with it at least five times. If you’re someone who doesn’t have a period, I’d still encourage you to read on, since half the population deals with this on a monthly basis for a significant part of their lives; read: around 40 years. And, if your sex ed was anything like mine, it spent an uneven amount of time focused on the male body, so perhaps you’ll learn something, or at the very least develop a little sympathy.

Here’s why I’m riding the struggle bus today:

1. I’m super hungry in the week before my period, this sometimes extends to the first day as well, which can be a real drag if I’ve forgotten to pack out extra food.

2. The first day of my period I am so tired. All of the tired. Very very tired. Unfortunately I still have to get in a full day’s hiking, instead of a full days lounging around watching television.

3. Have you ever dealt with cleaning a menstrual cup? It’s not the best even when you have a private bathroom and clean running water. However when you need to dig a cathole every time you need to empty your cup (read: several times a day) and you only have the water in your bottles to clean up with, the struggle for hygiene is exacerbated. Oh and it takes forever to dig said cathole ever time I baño. If you’re a tampon user on the other hand, now you’ve got to pack those both in and out. I hope you brought enough!

4. Hiking uphill with cramps is in fact a torture method developed by Satan himself. Thanks, Satan.

5. Sometimes my period is right on time. Sometimes, especially after a very difficult section, it’s a few days late. But who doesn’t love a little free bleeding spontaneity in their lives?

6. Not to sound like an absolute cliche, but yes being on my period can royally screw with my hormones. Doing any sort of aerobic exercise is hard verging on impossible when I’m crying. And why am I crying? Oh because Hedwig just died in HP7, and now I’m sniffling mess facing a 1,200 foot climb at the end of the day.

What about you? Do any of my period having humans have tips to share for how they function on the trail? Or funny stories to tell? I wanna hear ’em!